


Nightmares

by OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor



Series: Greed!Hughes [5]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Mild Language, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-12 23:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10501548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor/pseuds/OnceAndAlwaysEnglishMajor
Summary: The nightmares are the hardest part to adjust to, and Gracia's facade of strength cracks.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Definitely the most angsty thing I've done with this series, but I hope you enjoy it. Check me out on tumblr @onceandalwaysenglishmajor!

The nightmares are the hardest thing for Gracia to adjust to. She wishes desperately that she didn’t have to, that there was a way to chase away the demons that haunted her strange little family. Instead, she settled for dealing with the aftermath.

            A low, pain-filled moan echoed from the couch. Gracia slipped out of bed, wrapping her robe tightly around herself, and shuffled to the kitchen. She filled the kettle with water and set in on the stove without having to turn on the lights. She couldn’t tell if this was a Maes-nightmare or a Greed-nightmare, but chamomile tea had turned out to be the best solution for both. She pulled two mugs out of the cupboard before padding over to the couch. She started singing a lullaby as she knelt by the couch. She had learned to do this with Maes shortly after they got married, when his nightmares from Ishval were worst, when he would panic and lash out if anyone tried to touch him, to wake him up from the nightmare. So Gracia learned to sing to him as she approached. It let Maes’ subconscious know that she was there, that she was a safe person, and he didn’t lash out as she tried to wake him up. The man on the couch whimpered. Gracia brushed her fingers through the hair that flopped on his forehead, gently shaking his shoulder with her other hand. Bleary purple eyes blinked up at her. If Gracia was disappointed, she didn’t let it show.

            “Yours or his tonight?” she asked softly, still petting the dark hair.

            “Both, I think,” Greed muttered. In the dark quiet hours of the night, he had stopped pretending that the nightmares didn’t affect him. He still didn’t _care_ , that would be ridiculous. He blamed his response on the ridiculous human vessel he had been saddled with. But whatever the reason, in those unseen moments, he let Gracia take care of him. She kept petting his hair, singing softly, until the kettle let out a quiet whistle.

            “I’ll be right back with the tea,” she told him. Greed just nodded, swinging his feet off the couch to sit up.

            “Was it Ishval again?” Gracia asks quietly as she presses a warm mug into Greed’s hands.

            “He never really talks about it, you know. Him, or Roy, or Riza. I can see the damage, but I can’t do anything to fix it. It’s like a wound, but instead of cleaning it out, they cover it and let it fester.”

_She never talks like this,_ Hughes says in confusion.

            “I don’t push, that’s not what they need,” Gracia continued, “but it breaks my heart. They think I don’t know. That I don’t know what they did, what the military did, what they had to do. And I wasn’t there, I will never fully understand. But I do know. I’m not married to a military intelligence man for nothing. And I worked in the Intelligence office as a secretary while Maes was in Ishval. It’s amazing what people will say when you don’t have the rank for them to remember you’re there.”

            “Why are you telling me all this?” Greed asked. “It’s not like…”

            “You care,” Gracia finished for him. “I know. The in-between time of the middle of the night does funny things to a person sometimes. And I’m telling you because you’re hurting too. Close your mouth, I’ve heard it all from you before. But you don’t have nightmares from things that don’t affect you.” Greed could feel Hughes’ shock and confusion mixing in with his own response. He just stared at Gracia, at the shadowy outline next to him on the couch.

            “Drink your tea,” Gracia instructed. “Then I’ll sing until you fall asleep. It’s not much,” she said, almost to herself, “but it’s what I can do.”

            The scent of coffee and frying bacon woke Gracia. Bido, wearing his flowered apron, hummed as he managed several skillets at once.

            “Morning, Bido,” Gracia said, patting the lizard man lightly on the back. “You’re up early. Good night or a bad one?” Gracia quickly learned that Bido responded to his bad nights by being busy. It was how he dealt with emotion. Gracia had found him deep cleaning the bathroom at 4 AM once, after a particularly bad night.

            “A good one,” Bido answered softly, “no nightmares. I heard the kettle last night, though, and figured you might appreciate breakfast.”

            “Thank you, Bido. I’m sorry if we woke you up. Are you and Kain still taking Elicia to the park today?” she asks. Bido’s face lights up and he nods enthusiastically. If Gracia has any doubts about her deal with Roy Mustang, Bido’s excitement erases them. Gracia remembers the phone call. She had stormed into Team Mustang’s apartment, curtly sending poor Private Fuery next door.

            “Kain, I need to talk to your boss, go make sure they don’t burn down my apartment while I’m here.”

            “But, Mrs. Hughes, ma’am…”

            “I’ll deal with Mustang, don’t you worry about that,” Gracia said. Kain gulped and scurried out of the room. Gracia picked up the secure line and called the colonel.

            “Private Fuery? Has something happened?” Roy asked.

            “This is actually Gracia, and I need to talk to you about some things,” Gracia said as sweetly as she could manage. “Keeping everyone locked in the apartment isn’t going to work.”

            “Gracia, you know we can’t let your… special guests just wander around Central,” Roy said distractedly.

            “I’m not talking about letting them loose in Central, or even letting Greed out. But I have been stuck in a rather small apartment with a hyperactive toddler, a nervous chimera, and a homunculus who is more of a drama queen than my three year old. Somebody is going to die if we don’t get some fresh air soon.”

            “Uh,” Roy spluttered on the other end of the phone. Gracia already had some ideas for a solution, so she pushed ahead before Roy can recover. Maes would probably tell her off for bullying the colonel. But Maes wasn’t here right now, and she had to do _something_.

            “Now, before you come up with all kinds of logical arguments as to why this won’t work, hear me out. I know we can’t have Bido or Greed running around unsupervised. And you don’t want them left alone in the apartment. But what if one of your people stayed with them while Elicia and I went out? Or went out with Bido? Unlike Greed, he’s not recognizable. Even just letting him do the grocery shopping. He’s such a sweetheart, and giving him a little more responsibility would do wonders for his self-confidence. Please, Roy,” Gracia pleaded. She heard Roy’s muffled sigh on the other end of the line.

            “I’ll do what I can, Gracia. I know this situation is hard on you,” Roy said.

            “Thank-you,” Gracia said chocking back sudden tears.

            Which was why Bido and Kain were taking Elicia to the park and picking up the groceries while Gracia stayed home with Greed and had a much needed break. At least, as much of a break as being home alone with Greed could be.

 

            Gracia sank into the couch with a sigh, having successfully shoved Kain, Bido, and Elicia out the door with a bag of snacks and a manageable grocery list. Bido had come so far in the time he had been staying with them, and Gracia was so proud to see the anxious man come out of his shell.

            “You look like shit.” Gracia stiffened. The voice was Maes. The face was Maes. But the words, the tone… it wasn’t him. Gracia knew she should stay strong, knew she should fight, but today, she just couldn’t. The tears came instead. Not gentle tears, either, a torrent, a storm, and Gracia was helpless to stop the sobs that threatened to shake her to pieces.

 

            **Fuck,** Greed thought. He had not expected that reaction. Gracia usually met him snark for snark. This needed to be fixed. He had broken one of his possessions and had no idea how to repair the damage.

            _What the hell did you do?_ Hughes asked.

            **I don’t know! Fix it!** Greed hissed, violently shoving Hughes back into control. Hughes closed his eyes, taking a moment to readjust to actually being in control of his body again. He wanted nothing more than to pull his wife into his arms and hold her until the world mended, but that probably wasn’t the best place to start, considering the asshole sharing his body had started this in the first place.

            “Gracia?” he says softly. She jerks, eyes snapping to his face, desperate, and Hughes’ heart breaks just a little more. They stare at each other for a second, an eternity, before Gracia launches herself into Maes’ arms. And maybe he couldn’t fix everything that was wrong just by holding her, but maybe, maybe, for today it would be enough.


End file.
